All's Fair (Part 1)
by ficshun
Summary: Crystal Tokyo is suddenly and unexpectedly attacked by mysterious life forms which harbor destructive and lethal powers. The sailors are put through physical and emotional rigors as they combat the new enemy. (Unfinished)


Hi everyone! This is my first attempt at fanfiction of any kind and is currently unfinished. I abandoned this story line over the summer and wanted some feedback on whether I should finish the story or not, so please review it! :)  
I was unsure how to rate this story so I categorized it as PG-13 for some violent content.  
I don't own Sailor Moon blah blah blah....   
  
  
ALL'S FAIR  
  
Dark gray storm clouds shroud the afternoon sky and forbid the sun to warm the earth. Lightning and thunder crashed menacingly while the cloud unfurled its reservoirs of pounding rain. Rain that almost quelled the sound of two children plodding hurriedly down the small, yet frequently used road. The boy glanced over his shoulder at a suburban house to his left that was reminiscent of days before thirtieth century Tokyo, then pointed his adolescent finger at the building. "That's my house!" he announced, "Thanks, Suzy! See you tomorrow," and with a small wave ran out from under the shelter of the pink and white polka dotted umbrella. Suzy reciprocated the parting wave; "I'll be by your house before school tomorrow, Tommy. And don't forget your umbrella!" she shouted with the authority of a six-year-old. She paused, watching him approach the household, Tommy didn't go to great lengths to avoid the forming puddles and even deliberately jumped into the larger, muddier ones, which made Suzy wonder why he needed use of her umbrella in the first place. With a dismissive shrug she hurried to her respective homestead.  
  
"Mom! I'm home!" Tommy yelled and began to remove his yellow goulashes and parka, leaving the soaked clothing in the entryway. His mother emerged from the kitchen, drying her hands on a dishcloth. "Hi hon," she greeted him, and tousled his already rain disheveled brown hair, with an added motherly look of disapproval for his wetness and tardiness. "You should have remembered your umbrella," she scolded maternally, "go upstairs and put on something dry." She kissed Tommy's forehead and pushed him gently in the direction of the stairway, Tommy gave his customary grimace and quickly wiped the kiss from his brow but obeyed her command by running up the carpeted stairs. "Hi dad!" Tommy shouted almost as an afterthought as his father stepped aside, narrowly missing a collision with the child. His father gave a salutatory wave while heading toward the kitchen, in hopes of sampling some dinner before mealtime.  
  
Once upstairs, Tommy almost instantaneously forgot his mother's order after he spied his recently acquired set of binoculars, colorful, shiny and new. Although the binoculars were like candy to the child, it was rather inexpensive plastic and the lenses lacked clarity and were not capable of magnifying very long distances. He snatched up the toy in his miniature hands and ran past a glass sliding door to the small balcony that overlooked the forest near their household. Tommy anxiously peered through the binoculars lenses, sweeping the horizon and viewing merely a green blur of the trees. One evergreen came into focus and the jade leaves were rustling and swaying violently, almost as though someone was jumping on the branch. The movement of the leaves puzzled Tommy; it wasn't the more subtle and recognizable motion that the continuously falling rain created upon impact with foliage. He turned and called instinctively for his mother then resumed peering into the woods. The movement had stopped, whatever it had been, it wasn't there anymore.  
  
From downstairs a crash and the screaming of Tommy's mother resonated to his ears, then came the more baritone yelling of his father accompanied with an unearthly growl. Tommy stood petrified, "Mom! Dad!" he yelled desperately to his parents then sprinted towards the origin of the horrifying sounds. He stepped cautiously into the dark kitchen, The power must have gone out from the storm, Tommy thought absently. With nervous, darting glances he proceeded to the dining area when his foot touched something wet and warm. He retracted his foot quickly to see a large red stain spreading and absorbing into the azure carpet. "Blood..." he breathed disbelieving. Tommy saw a shadow move across his peripheral vision, a large, grotesque and hunched form shrouded and symbiotic with the shadows. Yellow eyes bore through the void of darkness, unnatural, inhuman eyes. With a resigned whimper Tommy covered his head with his arms protectively and shut his eyes to the attacker. Silence.  
  
____________________________________________________________  
  
  
Neo Queen Serenity sat idly on her crystal throne in the tallest spire of the Crystal Palace, at the apex of a red carpeting that extended from the lavishly decorated doors to her royal platform, the entire length of the audience chamber. She took little notice of her familiar and routine surroundings, causally dismissing the crystal pillars, arched ceiling and windows, and tapestries with celestial bodies emblazoned by every thread. But Serenity did take note of the four empty chairs to her left; the crystal seats accompanied her throne on the elevated dais, yet were left unoccupied. Her guardians, no, her friends had been absent the entire day. Serenity had pardoned them of all duties for days, there was little to be done that week and their attendance was unnecessary. With no responsibilities to be performed, she was left to languish in boredom. Serenity tried unsuccessfully to suppress a yawn and lethargically covered her mouth, unable to conceal it from her ever-watchful partner.   
  
"I knew you couldn't feign royal decorum all the time, Meatball Head," King Endymion teased as he smiled affectionately at her. She had many names and titles throughout her lifetimes, but there were none she cherished as much as "Meatball Head." Embarrassment flushed her cheeks with color as Serenity returned an innocent smile to her husband. Her husband. After what seemed like ages they had finally swore their eternal love through holy wedlock. Their relationship had endured through countless trials and tribulations so it almost seemed odd that they now had the stability of marriage. Neo Queen Serenity and King Endymion's allegiance to one another grew even stronger after Serenity became pregnant with their first daughter. She stared with fascination at her swelling abdomen, at the life forming within her, the life she and Endymion had created. Serenity deftly ran her slender fingers over her protruding belly of seven months, Rini... she though contentedly and flashed a maternal smile. So much had changed since she had first discovered her powers as Sailor Moon, only an awkward youth of fourteen. Serenity was amazed that maturity and experience had metamorphosed her from an uncouth teenager into the sovereign ruler of a planet. The ecological disaster that could've purged Earth of life was overwhelming, yet had ultimately led her to become a queen....  
  
Exploration of her memories was diverted by the sound of footsteps resonating off the interchanged marble and crystalline tiles. A young woman clad in a dress of silver and ivory tones with a symbol of the full moon across the chest, the common livery of all female servants in the palace, gave a respectful bow. "Minister of Global Defense, Tourmaline to see you, your highness," she reported with a slight brogue, British maybe. "Thank you, send him in at once," Serenity gently commanded and gave an aside glance of worry to Endymion, Tourmaline did not frequent the audience chambers unless a situation needed to be immediately addressed.  
  
Carved chamber doors swung open gently allowing the arrival of Minister Tourmaline. Serenity smiled, rose from her chair and descended the dais to meet her advisor. Long strides allowed Tourmaline to reach his sovereign quickly; he was a tall man with platinum hair pulled back in a braid that swayed down his back. His cavernous crimson eyes emanated stern authority, yet all the while shining with passion and intelligence. A very commanding figure and his angular features were handsome enough to rival those of Endymion. Tourmaline firmly grasped her delicate hand and descended to one knee, with closed eyes the Minister pressed his forehead to her knuckles, almost the extreme display of respect without being sycophancy.   
  
He gracefully rose from his prone position and smiled down at the queen, but that was all the pretense he allowed. "Your Majesties, I must speak with you, privately," his crimson gaze locked firmly with her azure, accentuating the need for privacy. Serenity nodded and motioned for Tourmaline and Endymion to follow her into the neighboring conference room. The conference room doors, not much unlike the entrance to the audience chamber, opened allowing the royal entourage access to main antechamber. The walls had a smattering of maps and the flags of thirtieth century Tokyo and there were crystalline models of the planets as well as the sun suspended in midair above the conference table. This table itself was especially spectacular, a large circular console made of a dark blue marble, striated with enough chairs to accommodate the members of Queen Serenity's court. In the center of this trestle there was a large roseate prism that projected images and data to the court, this was the Round Table of Serenity's thirtieth century Camelot.  
  
The Minister strode to the rosy crystal at the core of the table and touched his fingertips to the glassy surface. An aerial photograph taken of what seemed to be a neighborhood shrouded in forest projected to Tourmaline's audience, the image unwavering in midair. "Yesterday morning the Stevenson family was murdered, in their own home, not far west of here in the Chiba Global Forest Reserve suburbia. Someone forced their way into the household, through the front door and killed the three residents," Tourmaline began his explanation and images flickered and changed in response from his fingers dancing methodically over the crystal. To illustrate his briefing, pictures emanated from the crystal, first a small suburban house, then a mangled front door hanging loosely by a hinge, finally gruesome photographs of a murdered family. Serenity gave a small shudder while Endymion grimaced uneasily but both concentrated on Tourmalines' report, he continued in his resonating voice, "Someone, or something killed this family. This picture was discovered on the Stevenson's home security camera." With his last statement a new image appeared before Serenity and Endymion, a black and white still frame, indistinct yet it's implications shocked and horrified the Queen and King. It displayed a large thing that could only be described as a monster, hunched on massive front legs with enormous claws protruding from the feet; it's bent back a mote of barbs and spikes. Its monstrous domed head had six eyes glittering ferociously and a large mouth containing a profuse amount of projecting, hideously sharp teeth.  
  
Serenity was aghast with astonishment, and fear. "What is that?" she demanded, though not entirely expecting an answer. "Certainly not of this planet," came Tourmaline's collected response, "There's still more," he continued. "At exactly two o'clock yesterday morning this picture was taken of the Chiba Global Forest Reserve suburbia  
from our defense satellite," the corresponding photograph was projected before the Royal couple. "Only minutes later this appeared at the same location, a few miles from the Stevenson residence," a dark rectangular shape appeared in a large clearing on the aerial picture within the Forest Reserve. "A structure?" Serenity quickly asked. Tourmaline shook his head and with pensively narrowed eyes instructed, "Look closer..." The image began to magnify, becoming more distinct and clarified with each enlargement. Columns, rows, individuals...   
  
"An army?!" Neo Queen Serenity breathed with disbelief, her eyes widening in terror. "You mean there's a whole army of those...those things!" Endymion demanded furiously before the view screen. Serenity slowly recovered tranquil command of her emotions and tried not to betray the turmoil reeling inside of her to the others as she quietly surmised, "It seems I will need my guardians after all."  
  
____________________________________________________________  
  
  
Mina hurriedly ran her fingers through her golden tresses, haphazardly arranging the locks behind her head. "Where is it?" she muttered to herself, rummaging through a lavishly decorative drawer with her free hand, the other used to keep her hair at least somewhat gathered. "Artemis, have you..." the soldier of Venus began when she turned to see her sallow colored feline patiently sitting with a long, red ribbon between his jaws. "Oh! Thank you!" she cried when a loud rapping reverberated from the door, the muffled voice of Lita soon followed, "Mina, aren't you ready yet? She said it was urgent." Mina hastily opened the door while finishing tying her hair with the silken ribbon then accompanied the tall soldier of Jupiter in the vaulted hallway. Lita gave a cursory glance at Mina to be sure she was prepared for their conference with Serenity. The flaxen haired senshi was smoothing the pleats of her long and flowing orange pants, part of a sleeveless ensemble Lita herself was wearing, only green, respectively. In fact all of the guardians were required to wear the same garments, Serenity was reluctant to adopt such formality but it was suggested to set up some perimeters of decorum, at least when attending formal meetings. Satisfied, Lita finally admitted, "Well, better late than never," and gave a small smile as they continued through the crystal hall. Mina was about to inform her of the correct saying but decided instead to ask, "Do you have any idea what this emergency meeting is about?" Lita shook her head and frowned disapprovingly about being uninformed.  
  
Rapidly approaching the conference room, the two Guardians of Love and Thunder were met with respectful bows and curtsies from servants or lesser officials roving the corridors. Rounding a corner, they arrived before the audience chamber doors, Lita began to push the door open when someone came barreling down the corridor, colliding with her. "Hey! Watch where you're going..." she began but saw a small boy scowling irritably up at her as though she had run into him. Lita softened her tone a bit and smiled reassuringly, "Just watch where you're going next time okay, kiddo?" He suddenly seemed intimidated by the towering senshi and backed up a few steps; Lita frowned to herself, she usually had that effect with children. Mina knelt before the boy and rested her hand on his shoulder, "Just take it a little slower, Turbo, all right?" she said lightly. The boy still stood there, silently, and raked a hand through his midnight blue hair, his matching cerulean eyes flashing. He looked maybe seven years old, though it was hard to tell because of the Silver Imperium Crystal's influence with aging, and he seemed familiar, somehow... "Oh! There you are kiddo!" came a young man's voice from a little farther up the hall. The blue haired boy responded immediately and ran towards the platinum haired youth standing in the passage. The young man, who was probably almost twice the boy's age, smiled and put a hand on top of youngster's head then began to address the guardians, "Sorry about that, I hope Sapphire didn't cause you too much trouble." Mina sharply drew in a gasp and looked to see Lita's mirroring reaction, they stared knowingly at each other; this was none other than Prince Sapphire, yet to meet his cruel and merciless fate at the hands of Wiseman. Mina suddenly felt stupid for not realizing it sooner, he was missing the Black Moon insignia on his forehead, she hadn't recognized him without it. The older boy felt troubled when his simple statement caused so much consternation with the guardians, "I'm truly sorry, it won't happen again. We were just looking for our father and..." Lita broke in sharply, "Who is your father? And what is your name?" she stated it firmly, yet politely, though she already knew the answer to the latter question. Since this blue haired boy was the adolescent version of Prince Sapphire, his sallow complexioned companion could only be... "Diamond. I am Diamond, Son of Minister of Global Defense, Tourmaline," he answered quickly.   
  
Lita and Mina only nodded pensively in response and proceeded into the audience chamber, leaving the two boys alone in the corridor. Diamond and Sapphire were the sons of Tourmaline? They suspected this information was crucial to events regarding the progression of Crystal Tokyo, though unsure how exactly it all coincided. The two silently agreed to address this information before Serenity and the remaining guardians, soon.  
  
____________________________________________________________  
  
  
"You want us to capture one of these creatures?!" Rei asked incredulously, always the first to disagree with Serenity's judgment. She, along with the inner senshi, sat with Serenity within the conference room, furtively discussing their current situation. "Yes, I believe we should capture at least one. It's essential to study these animals before taking further action," Ami responded stoically, spouting logic and reason as second nature. Mina nodded in agreement, "We can't very well fight an enemy without understanding them or knowing their capabilities. Investigation is crucial." Lita simply sat brooding in her chair, probably anxious to pummel the enemy as soon as possible. Serenity had been quiet for some time now, allowing herself to collect her thoughts, absorb the guardian's conversation and finally come to a decision. "I need one of those animals for study, to best determine how to quickly and effectively deal with them. Please return one to the palace for research, immediately," she ended with a purposeful look towards Rei, she would not tolerate any more argument from her, not now.  
  



End file.
